At least 27 killed as asylum seeker boat crashes off Australian island

More than two dozen asylum seekers have died and dozens are missing after a
fishing boat crashed onto rocks on the Australian territory of Christmas
Island.

By Bonnie Malkin in Sydney

10:08AM GMT 15 Dec 2010

Television footage showed the boat, carrying about 70 people, rammed bow first onto the rocks, splintering and sinking, and its passengers, including women and children, thrown by waves against razor-sharp rocks.

A navy rescue was underway, using two inflatable rafts, but attempts to remove people from the water were being hampered by the difficult weather conditions.

The Indonesian boat was believed to be carrying mostly Iranians and Iraqis.

Wayne Swan, the Australian Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister, said 27 bodies had been recovered and 41 rescued, but warned the toll could rise.

Witnesses, many of whom rushed to the cliffs and tried to lower ropes and life rafts down into the water after hearing cries for help, described the scene at Flying Fish Cove on the north of the island as a "major tragedy".

Gordon Thompson, the Christmas Island Shire president, told Australia's Fairfax news websites that there were "people in the water crying out for help".

Another witness said he could see "bodies floating around out there," including women and children.

Phillip Stewart, a Chistmas Island resident, said he saw people drowning and others smashed against floating debris after their boat broke up against the limestone cliffs.

"The tragedy continued for some time and we witnessed people actually drowning.... Unfortunately (they) were hit against the rocks," he told Sky News.

Kamar Ismail, a Christmas Island shire councillor, said he saw at least two or three bodies in the water and that rough seas had hampered the rescue.

"We were throwing out ropes and lifejackets but no one could grab on to the ropes," he told the West Australian newspaper.

"I saw children hanging onto the side of the boat just holding on. There were all others hanging on to rocks and what was left of the boat.

"Wave after wave was coming in and it was very, very rough. The rocks were very jagged and it's a very steep area around there."

Witnesses said the boat, about 130ft long, had lost power and drifted towards the rocks before being hit by a 45ft high wave.

The wave obliterated the boat, sending scores of people into the water, where they were trapped between debris and the sheer cliffs.

The island's small 9-bed hospital has been put on standby to receive the injured and at least two people have been flown to Perth for treatment. Refugee rights groups have demanded to know why the navy did not intercept the boat sooner.

The incident comes amid a simmering debate in Australia over immigration. The country's detention centres are at capacity, and the government has been accused of "going soft" on asylum seekers and implementing policies that have failed to deter desperate people from making the dangerous journey from Indonesia to Christmas Island, which lies 1,600 miles northwest of Perth, in unsafe vessels.

When asked at a press conference if the incident was linked to the government's policy, Wayne Swan, the acting prime minister, said it was not the time for a political debate.

"This is a tragic incident," he said.

"A number of people have been rescued but sadly, some bodies have been retrieved."

Mr Swan said he had briefed Julia Gillard, who is currently on holiday, on the situation.

It is the third deadly incident involving boats trying to reach Christmas Island in the past decade. Last year, five Afghan refugees died when their boat exploded off Ashmore Reef, near Christmas Island, injuring 30 others. In 2001 the Siev X fishing boat sank just south of the Indonesian island of Java with 400 people onboard. A total of 353 people perished.